LOS ANGELES – Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Bruno Mars is taking grandMA2 and a complement of Clay Paky Sharpy lighting fixtures on the road for his international tour in support of his debut album, Doo-Wops & Hooligans.
LD/programmer/operator Cory FitzGerald almost two truck loads of lights are accompanying Mars. To control the extensive lighting complement, “we have two full-size grandMA2s running the latest version software – the first time we’ve taken the grandMA2 on tour,” he said. “We’re using overhead and double-hung diagonal trusses and have a pretty well-rounded lighting inventory.”
FitzGerald has been “working with grandMA for a while” and has teamed with A.C.T, the North American distributor, “to tweak and get it perfect. It’s been a good process – grandMA2 is different from grandMA, and I’m very pleased with it and like where it’s going. The macros make things go much faster, I have three times as many playbacks for more flexibility per song or per page, and the console layout is great.”
Among the lights controlled by the grandMA2 are six Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures on the floor and 14 in the truss. “I saw them at LDI and have been trying to get them on a show ever since,” said FitzGerald. Lighting vendor “Upstaging had them, and it worked out perfectly that we got them. They’re awesome – super reliable, super bright and so dynamic. Much more dynamic than I thought with gobos, prism and frost. Their speed is also amazing.”
The grandMA2 also controls two Hippos, double-stacked Barco projectors and a large LED wall. PRG’s Nocturne division is the video equipment vendor.
FitzGerald, who also did the production design for the tour’s set and screens, reports “no issues” with the grandMA2. In fact, he’s thinking about how to fine-tune the system to further meet his needs. “I’ve been very active in giving ideas for future macros to A.C.T, and they’ve been very receptive,” he said.
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